Duffen set for FA inquiry despite settling Hull legal dispute out of court

12 February 2010 01:33

Inquiry: Duffen

Paul Duffen remains the subject of an FA inquiry despite settling his legal dispute with Hull City out of court on Thursday.

Hull launched legal proceedings against their former chairman and chief executive in the High Court last month after accusing him of spending company money for private use while also alleging, more seriously, that an offshore company he has close links with received payments from agents in return for allowing the agents to negotiate transfers on the club's behalf.

It amounted to potentially the biggest bungs scandal since George Graham.

Hull settled their dispute on Thursday, recovering monies from Duffen believed to run into millions.

A statement read: 'Further to a statement made on 22 January 2010 regarding legal action commenced by Hull City against its former chief executive officer, we are pleased to confirm that we have agreed settlement on terms satisfactory to the club. This agreement brings to an end all disputes between the parties.'

But that does not bring an end to the saga in the eyes of the FA's financial governance team, who now want to examine any evidence that could point to a serious breach of their regulations, including agents' regulations.

Last night an FA spokesman simply confirmed that the case remained open.

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